Archives for May 2011

The president’s health care bill was sure to be a major issue in the 2012 campaign – but not among Republicans.  Both Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich have taken heat for their positions on the issue.  Romney for backing mandates at the state level Gingrich for attacking the House GOP Medicare reform plan.  So what is the impact of their statements on the national debate?  We ask Grace-Marie Turner of the Galen Institute.  She also weighs in strongly on the political nature by which Obamacare waivers seem to be granted.

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Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review are happy that a Republican appears to have qualified for the runoff in a predominantly Democratic Congressional district.  We document Newt Gingrich’s latest political headache, and we speculate what might be involved with Al Qaeda naming an interim leader in the wake of bin Laden’s death.

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For the past few days, conservative circles have been buzzing as GOP presidential hopefuls Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich try to embrace mandates while denouncing the Obama health plan.  Gingrich also called the new House Republican Medicare reform plan “right-wing social engineering”.  So how are Congressional Republicans reacting to all of this?  Where do most stand on mandates?  And is the Ryan plan radical – especially when compared to Obamacare?  We discuss it all with Louisiana Rep. Bill Cassidy, who is also still a practicing physician.

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The unemployment rate is 9.0 percent and the real rate is much higher.  Nearly all experts say mall businesses are the key to getting out of this jobs funk.  But what do they need to start hiring?  How is runaway spending in Washington hurting job creation efforts?  And what can Congress do about burdensome bureaucratic regulations?  We discuss it all with Tennessee Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, a member of the House Small Business Committee.

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The waters of the Mississippi River have severely impacted several states and Louisiana is now next in line.  How is a state with such low elevations bracing for the flooding?  How many people in rural areas will be impacted by efforts to divert the high waters?  Will opening the spillways be guaranteed to save Baton Rouge and New Orleans?  And what are the state and federal governments doing to help?  We ask Louisiana Rep. Bill Cassidy, who represents the Baton Rouge area.

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Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review applaud Paul Ryan’s explanation of why his Medicare reform plan is not radical and how it’s much preferable to Obamacare.  We also rip the blatant politics involved in granting Obamacare waivers – as businesses in Nancy Pelosi’s district account for 20 percent of all waivers granted in April.  And we savage the government again as we learn light bulbs will cost between $40-$50 each next year thanks to government condemnation of the incandescent bulb.

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Texas Rep. Kevin Brady is vice chairman of the Joint Economic Committee and is releasing a new study showing that the Federal Reserve policy of Quantitative Easing is weakening the dollar so much that Americans are paying an extra 56 cents per gallon as a result of our plummeting currency rates.  So how does he reach that conclusion?  How would he like the Fed to change course and what can Congress do about it?  We ask Rep. Brady and get his insights into how Congress will respond to today’s announcement that our nation has exceeded our debt limit.

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It’s been an eventful few days in the 2012 Republican presidential race.  Mike Huckabee and Donald Trump are taking a pass on the race while Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich are taking on water over their health care positions.  So who benefits from the Huckabee exit?  Should we be at all surprised that Trump isn’t running after all?  And how badly damaged are Romney and Gingrich for their embrace of health care mandates?  We discuss it all with Dr. Larry Sabato, professor of political science at the University of Virginia and director of UVA’s Center for Politics.

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Over the weekend, Syrian demonstrators tried to illegally cross the border into Israel.  Israeli Defense Forces repelled the effort, leaving a few of the demonstrators dead and others injured.  Why is Syria sudden;y provoking Israel?  How is Iran involved?  And how worried are Israelis about the greater bonds between Hamas and Fatah?  We ask retired Israeli Brigadier Gen. Elihu Ben-Onn, who is now a radio talk show host in Jerusalem.  Ben-Onn also weighs in on this week’s meeting between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netahyahu.

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Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review are pleased to see Obama’s poll numbers drifting down again.  We also unload on Newt Gingrich for calling Paul Ryan’s brand of Medicare reform “right-wing social engineering”.  And we wonder why Illinois Rep. Jan Schakowsky says the bin Laden death photos depict a violent crime scene.

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